Sirocco
by Vindicated Irony
Summary: When he had grabbed her arm, he'd looked at her. Like he could see her; like he could see her soul. And she had felt this energy, this spirit exuding from him and wondered how she hadn't felt it before. OC
1. Chapter 1

**I need to stop with the new stories and focus on the others. I update on no specific schedule; just when I finish a chapter. So I basically write for what I feel like writing for.**

**I do not own one piece.**

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**Sirocco:**

_**a hot wind, often dusty or rainy, blowing from North Africa across the Mediterranean to southern Europe.**_

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"_I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be."_

― **Douglas Adams**

**/N/Y/R/E/E/**

The stale smell of rum leaked from the swinging doors of The Pelican, so much so that Nyree couldn't help but to wrinkle her nose. Bars weren't places she normally frequented; at least, she wasn't _seen_ in bars. They were terrific places to pick up a little cash though; if anyone noticed a brush or graze from something they couldn't see they just blamed the person closest to them.

It was the perfect place for her, really.

A pale brown strand of hair fell from behind Nyree's ear as she stretched her arms above her head, "These silly drunks always make things _so_ easy."

She sniggered, a big grin on her face as her form wavered to blend in to her surroundings. Her footsteps were silent as she shadowed a man into the bar, the doors swishing behind her.

'_Now,'_ Nyree tapped her fingers together as she eyed all the patrons, _'who's first?'_

A big guy stumbled to the right, his face flushed from all the alcohol he had consumed. Another man – this one skinnier – slammed his mug down on the bar, demanding another drink. Neither were ones that looked like they'd have the payout she wanted.

Oh, the woes of a pickpocket.

Her violet eyes flashed (though no one could see them), _'There!'_

He seemed to be a pirate, or maybe a bounty hunter, but job descriptions meant nothing to Nyree. What mattered was that he had a good quality coat, leather boots, and a double barreled pistol from Henning island (you want good guns? Buy Hennings.). The pouch containing what belli he had flashed into sight as his coat flashed open with a dramatic movement, and it was fat.

Nyree all but danced between the people in her way until she was by the man's side, lashing out to snag the pouch as another man walked closely by. Her victim faltered, noticing the tug and then the man – not that it mattered to Nyree; she was already across the room searching for her next target.

The brunette weighed her stolen pouch in her hand before stuffing it into her bag and glancing around again. She saw the skinny man from before slouched over on the counter and snorted quietly, _'If you can't hold your alcohol, don't drink.'_

A boisterous laugh drew her attention to the front corner near the exit where a man in an obnoxious orange hat sat with three other men. He looked like he was about to speak but suddenly took a face dive into his food, sound asleep. The other men, Nyree noted, didn't seem too concerned or surprised which spoke for often this must happen.

'_There are a lot of plates…'_ Nyree bit her index finger in thought, _'Either they have cash, or they're going to dine and ditch.' _

Her eyes roved over the two she could see – the man in the hat and a rather rotund fellow across from him. What looked like part of a belli pouch was peeking out from the sleeping man's pocket, so Nyree maneuvered herself through the crown to get a closer look.

'_Well, it certainly looks like a pouch of some kind,' _she mulled things over for a moment, glancing between the man and the doors. Nyree figured she was close enough to the door to make an escape if things went wrong, which was more likely in this situation than the last. Since this was in a corner, there wasn't anyone wandering by and therefore no one to take the blame if he – or his companions – noticed the pouch being taken.

Her hand twitched and she made her decision, _'I'm doing it.'_ Nyree slipped forward and gently grasped the bag and pulled.

A startled gasp escaped her as the sleeping man's hand lashed out and grasped her still unseen arm. Some of the seriousness should have been lessened because of the food still sticking to the orange hatted man's face, but the look in his eyes prevented that.

'_Oh kami,'_ Nyree's heart accelerated and her other arm lashed out to pinch a nerve in the man's arm, causing him to let go, _'Oh kami, run Nyree, run!'_

She stumbled back and ran, leaving the man and his confused companions behind.

**/N/Y/R/E/E/**

There were a few things that really scared Nyree. Those things being dragonflies, spiders, and drowning. Throw in a man that could see her, but not _see_ her and that makes four things in total. And that man probably scared her the most at this point in time.

When he had grabbed her arm, he'd _looked_ at her. Like he could see her; like he could see her soul. And she had felt this energy, this _spirit_ exuding from him and wondered how she hadn't felt it before. How she hadn't felt such a strength about him before she didn't know; she was usually a fairly good judge of things like that.

"Doesn't matter now," Nyree muttered through a shaky breath, "I'm here and he's at The Pelican."

A slight comfort came from the belli she _did_ get from the other man. That pouch was plump and full of money, five thousand if she'd counted it right. Not a bad haul for grabbing just one pouch. Her mind drifted back to the man with the obnoxious hat and she sucked in another breath.

"Come on, you're Nyree Marrow," she smoothed the covers on the bed before falling back, "You've had plenty of close calls. He'll never find out it was you. They never do."

**/N/Y/R/E/E/**


	2. Chapter 2

**_Guest: _Thank you for your review! I hope this chapter is just as good! And yes, I'm not much of one for damsel in distress OCs, they get very annoying. As for her fruit, it's mentioned in this chapter.**

**I also hope I have/can keep Ace in character. Maybe I should get a Beta, haha.**

**/N/Y/R/E/E/**

"_I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be."_

― **Douglas Adams**

**/N/Y/R/E/E/**

A blue pinstripe button up settled over the top of the door, discarded by the violet eyed brunette within the changing room. Soon after a polka-dot blouse followed along with a pair of jeans, none of the items quite meeting the criteria the young woman was looking for.

Nyree stood clad in nothing but her underwear as she held up another button up, one that started out a nice lavender at the top and darkened until it reached a dark, almost black violet where the hems settled on her hips. She put it on with a hum and shimmied into some mid-thigh dark wash jean shorts and twirled around in front of the mirror.

"Not bad," Nyree smoothed down the sides and threw her mid-back length hair over her shoulder to get a better look at the back, "Not bad at all."

Satisfied with her new outfit, the brunette tugged on her dark grey ankle boots and made her was to the counter to pay. Now she was down four thousand from what she had earned the other night.

Her nimble fingers worked on putting her hair into a high ponytail as she stepped on to the bustling streets. A puff of breath blew her stray bangs back to framing her face as she sauntered on, her ponytail swishing behind her. Nyree's eyes maneuvered over the people in the streets, and figuring it was too early for a good bar pickpocketing session, she started to move to a concealed spot so she herself could enact her devil fruit abilities and not be seen doing so. A sniffle off to the side stopped her.

"Mommy?" The little boy sucked up some of his snot with a rather loud snort and Nyree grimaced in disgust, "Mommy where are you?"

Kids, despite some of the disgusting things they did, had a soft spot in the pickpocket's heart. If the boy had lost his mother, by golly she'd help him find her. With that in mind Nyree went over and crouched in front of the boy, a kind smile on her face.

"Hey there, do you need some help?"

He sniffled again, "M-mommy said not tah talk tah stra-angers!"

"Well then," Nyree's nose crinkled in a grin, "My name's Nyree, it's nice to meet you."

The boy looked down for a moment and furiously rubbed the tears from his face, "I'm Finn." His lip quivered and a few sniffles followed, "And I lost my mommy!"

"There, there," Nyree cooed, "I'll help you find her. Where was she going?"

"Tah the docks to bring daddy his lunch." A loud, cringe worthy snot sucking snort followed Finn's words.

Nyree held back a cringe and grabbed the boy's hand, "Well, why don't we head off that way then? Maybe we'll see her."

Little Finn continued to sniffle almost silently next to her as they moved through the crowds and Nyree had to wonder; if this kid lived here, then he shouldn't have very many troubles finding his way around and to people who knew him and his family. Well, she supposed it was none of her business. Different towns, different families, different people.

"T-there she is!" Finn let go of Nyree's hand and ran off towards a rather frantic looking woman and worried looking man, "Mommy, daddy!"

His mother pulled him tight and smoothed down the still snot-producing boy's hair, crooning about how happy she was that he was okay.

"The pretty lady helped me!" Finn waved over at Nyree who grinned shyly and waved, "She's real nice!"

"Thank you, miss," his mother came over and shook her hand, "for your kindness."

A blush ran across the brunette's face and she giggled, "It was nothing! I'm just glad we found you!"

The woman thanked her again, as did the boy and his father and the three wandered off for lunch. Nyree sighed and scratched the back of her head, rolling her hips to place her weight more on her right leg. She was at a loss now, her pickpocketing mood was dampened by her good deed and hunger.

"So you aren't a bad person, even if you are a thief."

Nyree jerked and spun around, her ponytail snapping through the air as she did. Her violet eyes widened as she came face to face with a freckled, smirk ridden face framed by black hair and shadowed by an obnoxious orange hat. He'd called her a thief too, something that sent a shock through the brunette.

'_How did he..?'_ She sucked in a breath and narrowed her eyes, _'Pull it together, Marrow.'_

"What are you talking about?" Nyree took a step back, still wary of the strength that she knew he had, "I've never seen you –"

Her eyebrow twitched; he'd fallen asleep. The three men behind him – the same ones from the bar, she noted – all sighed and one gave the sleeping man a good whack on the head, sending him flailing to the ground.

He groaned and got back up, sending his friend a pout before turning back to Nyree, "You tried to lift my belli last night at The Pelican."

Nyree pursed her lips, _'So it __**was**__ a belli pouch._' It still raised a question though.

"How do you know it was me? It might not have even been a woman for all you know!" Nyree put her hands on her hips, "And I bet you that no one saw me at The Pelican last night."

"Maybe not, but I know it was you." A lazy smirk was on his face and he reached out and grabbed one of her wrists, just like he did last night, "Same wrist that I grabbed too. Much too dainty for a guy."

Nyree flushed and jerked her arm back from his loose grip, "My wrist _is not_ dainty! You obnoxious orange freak!"

The man blinked in confusion before frowning, "Obnoxious orange? My hat isn't obnoxious!"

"And my wrists aren't dainty!"

"Are too!"

"Are not!"

"Are too!"

"Are not!"

"Are too!"

"Are too!"

"Are not!"

Nyree smirked and the man scowled and crossed his arms, "Got you, Freckles." It was a classic, childish trick and Nyree was surprised that it had actually worked.

One of the men behind the orange hatted man stepped forward, "Uh, boss…?"

"Oh, right!" His pouting ceased and he turned back to Nyree, "Anyways, I know it was you. But I know you're not a bad person Miss Thief; you did bring that boy back to his parents after all."

"Don't call me Miss Thief!" Nyree frowned, "I'm Nyree. Nyree Marrow."

Freckles grinned, "And I'm Portgas D. Ace!"

Nyree gave a lopsided smile, "Yeah, I'm still calling you Freckles, Freckles." There was something familiar about his name, something that she felt like she should know. She eyed his friends, "And who are your friends?"

The rotund man stepped forward, "We're Ace's nakama. I'm Jirou."

A man with brown hair and a mustache stepped forward next, "Kev, nice to meet you."

"And I'm Hale, the important one," the man farthest back came forward and wiggled his brows, "It's okay if you forget these other losers."

"Yeah, sorry, not interested," Nyree sniggered as Hale sighed and slouched. She also noticed that the first man, Jirou, had said they were nakama. Pirates. Not that she had a problem with that, but it did mean that if she thought Ace's name was familiar it was because he had a bounty, "Well, I should go. Things to do, you know?"

"Wait," Ace stepped forward and Nyree glanced back, noticing his open yellow shirt for the first time.

'_Someone has nice abs,' _Nyree bit her lip and her eyes flickered back up to meet his.

"How'd you turn invisible? Was it a devil fruit?"

The brunette rocked back on her heels, considering things. _'What difference does it make if I tell them?' _Nyree pursed her lips, _'It's doubtful they'll say anything to anyone.'_

She blew out a breath she didn't know she had held, "I ate the chameleon chameleon fruit. You know, like the little reptiles that blend in to their surroundings?"

Ace nodded in contemplation, like he was really mulling things over. Nyree considered him and his crewmates for a moment before deciding it was time for her to leave, even if Freckles didn't want her to.

"Yeah, well, I've got places to be, people to pickpocket," Nyree raised her arms in an exaggerated shrug, "So, see ya."

With that she faded into her surroundings and darted back towards the town. Crowds were easy to get lost or lose someone in after all.

**/N/Y/R/E/E/**

**So yes, her fruit is a Zoan type. She can turn into a chameleon and blend in much like a chameleon can. It will be expanded upon later in the story, but feel free to ask questions if you have them!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Short chapter is short. The chapters in this will probably mainly be short, because that's how they've been coming to me. Hope you enjoy!**

**/N/Y/R/E/E/**

"_I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be."_

― **Douglas Adams**

**/N/Y/R/E/E/**

It was with a rather large amount of trepidation that Nyree considered what to do now that that Portgas D. Ace had ousted her. Though he hadn't said anything to anyone, she didn't want to have to deal with the man again. Or rather, she didn't want to have to find out what he'd been thinking about when she had vanished.

Though she wasn't too sure why she was so against seeing the young man and his crew again. It wasn't like he was planning on _hurting_ her or anything, not from what he'd been saying anyways. Nyree supposed it might be because she didn't want to get into trouble, and that man screamed trouble with that strength of his. There was something different about that crew, she could tell even though she'd only met them briefly.

'_Maybe it's because they're so happy,'_ her hands clasped together and she chewed on her tongue, _'They give off the feeling of a family.' _Violet eyes glanced over at the window before she pushed herself up from her seat to grab her backpack and remaining belli. Nyree shook her head and pushed her thoughts of pirates and nakama back, she had other things to think about, like getting off the island.

The log pose took nine days to reset on this island, Nyree had been avoiding him and his crew for the last four days and she guessed that they'd been on the island two, maybe three days prior to their meeting face to face. That meant she had two days left in her unreasonable avoidance cycle, though she needed to find a way off of the island as well.

One could only pick pockets on one island for so long.

Nyree dodged through the trees until she arrived at the edge of a cliff, a large flat-top boulder sitting off to the side. With a relaxed sigh the chameleon girl shimmered back to her original colors and clambered to the top of the rock.

"Kami, I love the sun," Nyree stretched her lean body out on the rock, the sun causing her closed eyelids to glow red, "So warm."

A yawn made its way past her lips and violet eyes fluttered momentarily in the warm sun before soft snores joined the chorus of birds.

**/N/Y/R/E/E/**

Nyree woke with a shiver, the cool evening wind brushing over her and sending goose bumps up along the exposed skin of her arms and legs. Other than the cool wind, it was still warm thanks to the late summer – early autumn island weather. A soft smile accompanied her droopy eyes as she watched the smatterings of pink, orange, and purple of the sunset bloom in the sky; her body and mind were both totally relaxed.

"Pretty, isn't it?" A cheery voice from her close right had her whole body snapping to attention.

Violet eyes swiveled over to meet coal black ones and Nyree's eye twitched. A grin covered the majority of the pirate's face, his eyes bright with a mischievous gleam. Something Nyree didn't appreciate, at all.

"Freckles," Nyree drawled out with an accent similar to ones found in South Blue, "How long have you been here?"

Ace crossed his arms and leaned back, propping his right ankle over his left knee, "Eh, I forget. A couple of hours maybe? I fell asleep."

As if to confirm his statement a large yawn escaped the man, causing Nyree to bite back one of her own.

Nyree pulled the elastic from her now messy braid and ran her fingers through her now slightly wavy hair, "But _why_ did you come out here? And why did you _stay_?"

"Oh, because I wanted to talk to you," Ace moved an arm to adjust his obnoxiously colored cowboy hat, "And to ask you to join my crew. That and I have narcolepsy, so I kind of fell asleep."

The brunette froze, her fingers tangled in her hair. Ace was looking at her with a happy-go-lucky but serious face, showing he had meant what he asked. Nyree blinked, her violet eyes wide and the rush of her blood sounding in her ears.

The word came out as a breath, "Why?"

Ace frowned in thought, "Because you seemed lonely. Nakama can cure that, you know? It seemed like you could use some." His grin returned full force, "That and your abilities are pretty cool."

'_Lonely?'_ Nyree looked down and clasped her hands together, '_Do I really seem lonely?' _Her mind reeled, still stunned at the offer and his statement. Sure, Nyree had considered piracy at one point, but after seeing some of the crews and the way they acted….

'_This guy and his crew… they're different from those crews,'_ she realized, _'They aren't evil; weird, but not evil.'_

Dark, inviting eyes looked at her, waiting for a response.

A grin pulled at Nyree's lips, "Sure, why not. I'll be your nakama Freckles."

Ace jumped up, his eyes shining as he hauled her up to drag her towards the docks. It was in this moment that Nyree realized she felt freer than she ever had before and joyous laughter bubbled from her lips, her eyes on the horizon.

**/N/Y/R/E/E/**

**I debated with myself on this one and Nyree's thoughts, I'm content with what I came up with though. Much better than my other ideas. **


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